Gary Burton's Jazz Journey

In an exclusive interview, seven-time GRAMMY winner details the major themes addressed in his autobiography, learning from collaborations and coming to terms with his sexuality

Fernando Gonzalez

GRAMMYs

Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

GRAMMY.com

In his newly published autobiography, Learning To Listen: The Jazz Journey Of Gary Burton, the seven-time GRAMMY-winning vibraphonist, bandleader and educator not only examines his remarkable career, but also tells the touching story of a child who felt "somehow different from the other boys" but grew up living as a straight man before coming to terms with his sexuality and starting a new life as a gay man in the '80s.

Burton, 70, started playing music at 6, taking lessons from a local vibraphone and marimba teacher. He learned fast, ultimately pursuing his education at Berklee College of Music in Boston and on the bandstands and in the recording studios with artists such as country guitarist Hank Garland, jazz pianist George Shearing and saxist Stan Getz.

By the mid-'60s, Burton formed his own group. A curious, restless artist, along the way Burton helped pioneer what would become jazz-rock fusion and explored smooth jazz and country, all while nurturing the talents of luminary musicians such as Pat Metheny, John Scofield and Larry Coryell. Burton also developed a parallel career as an educator at Berklee, beginning as a teacher and eventually retiring as executive vice president in 2004.

With a new album, Guided Tour, a tour with his quartet kicking off Sept. 12 in Washington, D.C., and having just married his longtime partner, Jonathan Chong, Burton is not slowing down anytime soon.

In an exclusive interview with GRAMMY.com, the jazz staple discusses the themes addressed in his autobiography, what he has learned from his many musical collaborations and coming to terms with his sexuality, among other topics.

Beyond telling your story, what were the issues you wanted to address in your book?I decided I had three things to tell. First, my life in jazz, that's the obvious. Then, how I figured out I was gay and how I adjusted to it in my career and with my family and relationships. And the third theme is how creativity works. I've been teaching this for three decades and people who are not musicians are always asking, "How do you do what you do? How do you know what notes to play? How do you know what he's going to play?" I realize that there's a lot of mystery in music for people, and I've always wanted to dispel it.

How did you pick the vibraphone? That's not exactly the first instrument a kid starting in music has in mind, probably much less in a rural town in Indiana.I didn't pick the vibraphone. My parents picked it for me because there was a teacher nearby. I assumed there were vibraphones everywhere. It was later on that I found out that nobody had ever heard of the thing. And I did have doubts about [playing the vibraphone] by the time I moved to New York. When I lived in Boston I played more gigs on piano because there were no gigs for vibes.

You have worked with many great artists, from pianist George Shearing and saxophonist Stan Getz to tango composer Astor Piazzolla and classical composer Samuel Barber. What did you take away from those experiences?I learned about harmony from George and about melody from Stan because they were really terrific, especially on those two aspects. With Astor there were two things that were different from my usual jazz experience. One was he wanted more drama, more expression in the melody lines than I was used to playing. At first, I felt I was overdoing it, but when I went back to playing jazz I found my playing more expressive. The other thing was I was used to soloing jazz style. In [Piazzolla's] case, he wanted me to improvise in spots: play something there; try something there; fill a little something here. So I learned to go back and forth between the written and the improvised. It was different. It changed the way I play jazz. My 10-year friendship with Samuel Barber meant a lot to me. At the time, well, it was something that didn't quite pan out. But now 30, 40 years later, I realize that here is one of the major classical musicians of my era and I got to see his personal life and got to know how he wrote and how he worked.

Many of your fans will be surprised when they read that you have "a kind of love/hate relationship with music" and "haven't practiced the vibraphone since high school." How did you get to this point?When I talk about the love/hate [relationship], it's because I have the sensation that if I don't keep my distance, music would otherwise overwhelm me or drown me. When I get away from music, don't play for a month and come back to start the next tour, I feel fresh. Everybody thinks that if you are a musician you live and breathe music every waking moment. I used to listen to records pretty continuously in my late teens and early 20s, absorbing what everybody else was doing. And I played constantly. I practiced, I had lessons to prepare for — I was a very active young musician. But things changed. The first change was going on the road with George Shearing. I was 19 years old and that year I was on the road 312 days. I only saw the vibraphone at the gig. Otherwise it was on the truck or at the next town. My practicing became playing on the gig.

You write about realizing, around high school, that you "first sensed confusion about sex" and that you were "somehow different from the other boys." What was that experience like?I didn't know what was going on with my sexuality once I became a teenager. We are talking about the mid-'50s in a farm town and there was no source of information or anybody to talk to. It was just scary. I knew it wasn't accepted, yet I had these feelings so I was terrified, and I spent the next several decades burying them.

When you figured out how to deal with your sexuality, you wrote that "anything but heterosexual in the jazz world was out of the question." What was the reaction when you finally did come out?Well, it certainly appeared that way to me then. When I did finally come out, in the late-'80s, I wondered, "Will the phone not ring as much now? Will Chick [Corea] give me the cold shoulder? What about Pat?" So I sort of held my breath, but I never had a problem. I'm sure there are people who would say things when I wasn't around, but even back in the late-'80s, early-'90s when I was coming out it was becoming less of an issue in … the jazz world I was in.The other big concern was what Berklee would think. I remember going to an event with [then-boyfriend] Earl and the next day, [then-president] Lee [Berk] called me to his office and said, "I just want you to know Earl is welcome at any event, any meeting, anytime, anywhere." And I thought, "Well, I don't have to worry about Berklee."

(Fernando Gonzalez, an independent writer and editor, is a regular contributor to the International Review of Music, JazzTimes and Miami Herald. He is based in Miami.)

GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Inspirations: Gary Burton

From Miles Davis to Chick Corea and beyond, GRAMMY-winning jazz vibraphonist details the five GRAMMY Hall Of Fame recordings that shaped his remarkable jazz journey

Fernando Gonzalez

GRAMMYs

Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

GRAMMY.com

(To commemorate the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame's 40th Anniversary in 2013, GRAMMY.com has launched GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Inspirations. The ongoing series will feature conversations with various individuals who will identify GRAMMY Hall Of Fame recordings that have influenced them and helped shape their careers.)

In his 2013 autobiography, Learning To Listen: The Jazz Journey Of Gary Burton, seven-time GRAMMY-winning vibraphonist and bandleader Gary Burton opens up about growing up in rural Indiana, where he took his first music lessons at age 6. He discovered jazz at 13 when he heard Benny Goodman's "After You've Gone" and was "enthralled."

Soon his collection included everything from the "West Coast cool" of Dave Brubeck to the "East Coast hothouse" of Charles Mingus. He went on to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston and shared a stage with artists such as Nashville, Tenn., studio wizard and guitarist Hank Garland, pianist George Shearing and saxophonist Stan Getz before setting out on his own. With the Gary Burton Quartet, Burton not only secured his place in jazz history as a player and bandleader, but also by pioneering what came to be known as jazz/rock fusion with the release of his 1967 album Duster, which earned him his first career GRAMMY nomination for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Small Group Or Soloist With Small Group.

Over the years Burton has crossed paths with other jazz greats such as Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, and Pat Metheny, all of whom helped influence his career. Below are the five GRAMMY Hall Of Fame recordings that helped shape Burton's remarkable jazz journey.

Kind Of BlueMiles DavisColumbia (1959)AlbumInducted 1992

"I was 16 years old and at band camp, playing in a student band and coincidentally there was a festival in French Lick, Indiana, and we were invited [to appear] as the opening act. Miles' group was the headliner and I watched them from the side of the stage. That group had [John] Coltrane and [Adderley] Cannonball and Bill Evans. It was the band [who played on] Kind Of Blue and I had never heard anything like that in jazz. The record came out shortly after that and Kind Of Blue was my introduction to modern jazz. It is the single most important jazz record of the past century."

FocusStan GetzVerve (1961)AlbumInducted 1999

"[Stan Getz Quartet] wasn't the first name band I played in, but I was with Stan Getz for three years and it was the experience that had the most influence on me. This record was done just before I met him. It was Stan's favorite and, for him, a very daring project — it had just saxophone with a string section. He was very proud of it, he talked about it a lot and I came to regard it as Stan's best work. For me, it was the first jazz recording I was aware of that didn't feature a typical jazz band. It was an unusual, risky kind of project I normally would not have been attracted to. Strings? Not even a rhythm section? Yet, it was so impressive that it opened my eyes and ears to all kinds of possibilities."

"I met Duke while still with Stan. We crossed paths [at] different events and festivals and at one point he invited me to a recording session and it was the most awesome experience imaginable. I only found out later, when the record came out, that it was Far East Suite.

"The band was set up on the bandstand facing the booth but there was a space of about 40 feet between the conductor and the control room and there they had set up chairs. There [was] somewhere between 60 to 100 people. The control room was jammed full and the crowd spilled out into the studio and we were sitting in folding chairs. But people were dressed in tuxedos and formal gowns and fur coats. It was like they were going to a ball.

"Watching the band working on this music was terrific and Duke was amazing. Here you had this great party scene going on and he never stopped, he seemed to ignore everything swirling around in the room. And the music was so original, so inventive. These were remembrances of these exotic cities they had visited in their tours. The early Duke music I had heard was more conventional big band, even though his was among the most modern sounding. But this was on another level."

"I was starting my new band [Gary Burton Quartet and] trying to [incorporate] rock and jazz, and I had become a huge fan of new rock, but the Beatles were my favorites. They had this eclectic way about their work. Every tune on their record was from a different style of music — there was a track with a string quartet and then there would be a blues shuffle, and then there would be something with a sitar or something orchestral — and we didn't do that in jazz. We would use the same style and the same instrumentation for the whole record. What the Beatles did was exciting. It had a big influence on me."

"Now He Sings, Now He Sobs"Chick CoreaBlue Note (1968)SingleInducted 1999

"This was the first record I heard of Chick's. We [have] since gone on to a 40-year-long collaboration but this was the introduction. Bill Evans had been the leading influential player and one of my favorites, but the younger players — Chick, Keith [Jarrett], Herbie [Hancock] — were moving away from that. Chick struck me as the best I'd ever heard in modern piano. It was as good as I ever heard it done."

(Seven-time GRAMMY-winning jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton released his autobiography, Learning To Listen: The Jazz Journey Of Gary Burton,in 2013.The New Gary Burton Quartet's most recent album, 2013's Guided Tour, was nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album at the 56th GRAMMY Awards.)

(Fernando Gonzalez, an independent writer and editor, is a regular contributor to the International Review of Music, JazzTimes and Miami Herald. He is based in Miami.)

GRAMMYs On The Road With Gary Burton And Fred Hersch

The Recording Academy played host to GRAMMYs On The Road at the Detroit Jazz Festival on Aug. 31 – Sept. 3 in downtown Detroit. GRAMMY.com conducted exclusive backstage interviews with artists performing at the festival, including six-time GRAMMY-winning vibraphonist Gary Burton and GRAMMY-nominated pianist Fred Hersch.

Burton discussed his introduction to the vibraphone, his career trajectory, combining elements of jazz and rock, and his collaborations with Chick Corea, among other topics.

"[Chick Corea and I] played a short segment on the Berlin Jazz Festival and then went into a studio to record [our] first record," said Burton."That's when we discovered we had a real easy rapport playing together."

Burton formed his own quartet in 1967, recording albums that fused rock elements with jazz improvisation and sophisticated harmonies. That same year Burton received his first of 19 career GRAMMY nominations for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Small Group Or for Duster. In 1972 he won his first GRAMMY for Best Jazz Performance By A Soloist for the album Alone At Last. Burton has earned his renown in performing in a duo format with musicians such as Corea, with whom he has won five GRAMMY Awards. The duo most recently won for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual Or Group for The New Crystal Silence in 2008. His most recent recording is 2012's Hot House, another collaboration with Corea.

Hersch discussed his love for the piano, the influence of poetry and visual art on his music, the music J.S. Bach, among other topics.

"[Today] people listen [to music] while they're doing email, they listen in their car, they listen on the treadmill," said Hersch. "People don't sit and listen to [music] and I think that's an absolute tragedy because the experience of concentrating on music … is really good for your soul."

Hersch, who started playing piano at age 4, has recorded more than 45 albums as a performer, bandleader or duo partner since 1991. He has played as a sideman with artists such as Stan Getz, Joe Henderson, Charlie Haden, and Bill Frisell. Hersch released his debut solo album, As One, in 1984. As the leader of the Fred Hersch Trio, Hersch has received five GRAMMY nominations, his first coming in 1993 for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual Or Group for "Dancing In The Dark." His most recent nomination was for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for Alone At The Vanguard in 2011.

And The GRAMMY Went To ... Chick Corea

(In the coming weeks GRAMMY.com will feature information and video highlights on winners from the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards, held Feb. 10 in Los Angeles. Each installment will offer the winning or related video, and some pertinent, and not so pertinent, information about the track and the artists.)

Did you know?: Corea was nominated in five categories and won two GRAMMYs for Best Improvised Jazz Solo and Best Instrumental Composition. In addition to his win for "Hot House," Corea took Best Instrumental Composition for "Mozart Goes Dancing" from his Best Instrumental Jazz-nominated album, Hot House, which he made with Gary Burton. Corea's GRAMMY for "Mozart Goes Dancing" is his first as a composer. He has picked up other GRAMMYs for projects recorded with his Return To Forever, Akoustic, Elektric, and Origin bands. Corea teamed with bassist Stanley Clarke and sax player Kenny Garrett to pay tribute to the late Dave Brubeck on the 55th GRAMMY telecast.

Coltrane is up for one nomination this year. He has one prior GRAMMY nomination.

Gary Burton & Chick Corea, soloists, "Hot House"

Burton is up for two nominations this year. He has 19 prior GRAMMY nominations and six wins. Corea is up for five nominations this year. He has 57 prior GRAMMY nominations and 19 wins, including those with his Return To Forever, Akoustic, Elektric, and Origin bands.

Chick Corea, soloist, "Alice In Wonderland"

Corea is up for five nominations this year. He has 57 prior GRAMMY nominations and 19 wins, including those with his Return To Forever, Akoustic, Elektric, and Origin bands.

Kenny Garrett, soloist "J. Mac"

Garrett is up for two nominations this year. He has five prior GRAMMY nominations and one win.

Brad Mehldau, soloist, "Ode"

Mehldau is up for one nomination this year. He has three prior GRAMMY nominations.

Best Jazz Vocal Album

Denise Donatelli, Soul Shadows

Donatelli is up for one nomination this year. She has one prior GRAMMY nomination.

Kurt Elling, 1619 Broadway: The Brill Building Project

Elling is up for one nomination this year. He has 10 prior GRAMMY nominations and one win.

Al Jarreau (And The Metropole Orkest), Live

Jarreau is up for one nomination this year. He has 18 prior GRAMMY nominations and six wins.

Luciana Souza, The Book Of Chet

Souza is up for two nominations this year. She has five prior GRAMMY nominations and one win.

Esperanza Spalding, Radio Music Society

Spalding is up for three nominations this year. She has two prior GRAMMY nominations and one win.

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez & Paul Motian, Further Explorations

Corea is up for five nominations this year. He has 57 prior GRAMMY nominations and 19 wins, including those with his Return To Forever, Akoustic, Elektric, and Origin bands. Gomez and Motian are up for one nomination each this year, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of their respective careers.

Chick Corea & Gary Burton, Hot House

Corea is up for five nominations this year. He has 57 prior GRAMMY nominations and 19 wins, including those with his Return To Forever, Akoustic, Elektric, and Origin bands. Burton is up for two nominations this year. He has 19 prior GRAMMY nominations and six wins.

Kenny Garrett, Seeds From The Underground

Garrett is up for two nominations this year. He has five prior GRAMMY nominations and one win.

Ahmad Jamal, Blue Moon

Jamal is up for one nomination this year. He has one prior GRAMMY nomination.

Pat Metheny Unity Band, Unity Band

The Pat Metheny Unity Band are up for one nomination this year, marking their first career GRAMMY nomination. Metheny has 35 prior GRAMMY nominations and 19 wins, including those with the Pat Metheny Group.

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Gil Evans Project, Centennial: Newly Discovered Works Of Gil Evans

The Gil Evans Project are up for one nomination this year, marking their first career GRAMMY nomination. Evans is up for two nominations as an arranger. He has 11 prior GRAMMY nominations and two wins.

Bob Mintzer Big Band, For The Moment

The Bob Mintzer Big Band are up for one nomination this year. They have one prior GRAMMY win. Mintzer is up for one additional nomination this year as an arranger. He has 14 prior GRAMMY nominations and one win, including those as part of Yellowjackets and Bob Mintzer Big Band.

Arturo Sandoval, Dear Diz (Every Day I Think Of You)

Sandoval is up for one nomination this year. He has nine prior GRAMMY nominations and three wins, including those as part of Irakere.

Best Latin Jazz Album

Chano Domínguez, Flamenco Sketches

Domínguez is up for one nomination this year, marking the first GRAMMY nomination of his career.

The Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band, ¡Ritmo!

The Clare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band is up for one nomination this year, marking their first career GRAMMY nomination. Fischer has 11 prior GRAMMY nominations and one win.

Bobby Sanabria Big Band, Multiverse

The Bobby Sanabria Big Band are up for one nomination this year. They have one prior GRAMMY nomination.

Luciana Souza, Duos III

Souza is up for two nominations this year. She has five prior GRAMMY nominations and one win.

Manuel Valera New Cuban Express, New Cuban Express

Manuel Valera New Cuban Express are up for one nomination this year, marking their first career GRAMMY nomination.

Who will take home the awards in the Jazz Field categories? Tune in to the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 10, 2013, taking place at Staples Center in Los Angeles and airing live on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

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